Video service providers, such as cable providers and satellite television providers, often provide subscribers with an external television receiver (also known as a set-top box) that is utilized to receive television content and provide the television content to an associated television receiver. Television receivers are often complex devices that require a significant amount of energy to operate. However, it is a problem that users often forget to turn-off the television receiver after completing viewing of a television program. Often, the user turns-off the television, but forgets to turn-off the television receiver. For example, a viewer may leave for work, turn-off the television, but forget to turn-off the television receiver. Thus, the television receiver continues to operate in an active state all day, outputting video content to the television that is turned off, and drawing a significant amount of energy for no reason.
As a solution to this problem, many television receivers now include an inactivity timer. The television receiver operates to shut-off automatically after a specified period of time if no user input (e.g., channel change requests, requests to view an electronic programming guide and the like) is received within the specified period of time. However, a viewer may watch a particular program for a significant amount of time without providing any input to the television receiver. For example, a viewer may watch football without changing the channel or otherwise providing input to the television receiver for four hours or more. A viewer may become very upset if a television receiver shuts off automatically during a particular program, especially if the television receiver shuts off during the last play of a football game. Thus, the interval for activation of the inactivity timer is often selected to correspond with the maximum expected time length of programming viewable by a user (e.g., four hours for a sporting event).
In many cases though, the use of a single time interval for activating an inactivity timer results in energy wastage. For example, a user may leave the television receiver on in the morning after leaving for work, and the television receiver may not shut off automatically until four hours after the user stopped watching television. Similarly, the user may leave the television receiver on in the evening after they go to bed. Again, the television receiver may shut off automatically four hours after the user stops watching television. In the described example, the television receiver is left on unnecessarily for eight hours a day, resulting in a significant waste of energy by the television receiver.